Australia wants Instagram to advertise its chronological feed switch

Australia wants Instagram, TikTok and every other large platform to tell users they can turn the algorithm off. The My Feed, My Way bill was announced on 8 September and sits with parliament. Breaking it could cost a platform up to 100 million dollars.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, flew to Australia to argue against it. He spoke to reporters on 10 September, an appearance he rarely makes outside the United States. The trip also promoted Instagram’s Algo Confessions series and its Your Algorithm setting.

Mosseri says a chronological feed cuts time on the app

His case is about what a feed by date does to the reading experience. Without ranking, he said, “the average user experience gets much worse”. Creators lose visibility first and friends lose it next. People see less of what they follow and spend far less time in the app. Mosseri put the drop at as much as 50 per cent.

Australian use of the date-ordered feed is in low single digits

Instagram already lets people switch. Mosseri said take-up in Australia stays in low single-digit percentages. He also accepted that the option is buried, saying he is not trying to hide it and could make it easier to find. That admission is the part lawmakers will quote back at him.

The Netherlands and the EU got there first

A Dutch court ordered platforms to make the date-ordered feed the default in October 2025. EU rules covering the same choice have applied across 27 member states since 2023. Australia would go further by forcing platforms to advertise the switch rather than merely offer it.

What a visible switch would do to paid and organic reach

Mosseri argues that without ranking the feed fills up with whoever posts most often. On his reading brands and news publishers gain, while creators lose, because reach stops following predicted interest. That matters to anyone paying for it: creators already trail Hollywood names by two points on trust. Meta has been tightening that dial in other ways too, and now shows fewer unlabelled AI profiles.

Nothing changes for advertisers yet. The bill was announced on 8 September, it has not passed, and the 100 million dollar penalty only applies once it does. The date to watch is the parliamentary vote, and Meta’s own tell will be whether the Your Algorithm setting moves up the menu before then. Mosseri has already said it could.